Principles of Transportation Engineering
CE123-5 | CO1
Topic Outline:
- Fundamental Concepts of Transportation
Engineering
THE ROLE OF TRANSPORTATION
Transportation is crucial to economic vitality and quality of
life, because it is the movement of people and goods from
place to place.
Transportation engineers seek to make these movements
safe, reliable, and efficient.
TRANSPORTATION AND SOCIETY
By providing transportation services safely, reliably, and
quickly with sufficient capacity and at a competitive price, a
state or nation can expand its economic base, enter new
markets and import skilled labor.
The benefits of providing society with improved
transportation are not achieved without a price. The cost to
society are both direct and indirect
THE INSTITUTE OF TRANSPORTATION ENGINEERING (1987)
By providing transportation services safely, reliably, and
quickly with sufficient capacity and at a competitive price, a
state or nation can expand its economic base, enter new
markets and import skilled labor.
The benefits of providing society with improved
transportation are not achieved without a price. The cost to
society are both direct and indirect
TRANSPORTATION ENGINEERING
The application of technological and scientific principles to
the planning, functional design, operation, and
management of facilities for any mode of transportation in
order to provide for the safe, rapid, comfortable, convenient,
economical, and environmentally compatible movement of
people and goods
TRAFFIC ENGINEERING
branch of transportation engineering, is described as “that
phase of transportation engineering which deals with
planning,
geometric design, and traffic operation of roads, streets,
and highways, their network terminals, abutting lands, and
relationships with other modes of transportation
CAREER OPPORTUNITIES IN TRANSPORTATION
The management aspects of freight transportation, known
as business logistics or operations research, are concerned
with the movement and storage of goods between the
primary source of raw materials and the location of the
finished product.
Vehicle design and manufacture - involves the application of
mechanical systems, electrical systems, and computer
engineering skills.
Transportation infrastructure industry - professionals who
work in this area are employed by government agencies,
consulting firms, construction companies, transportation
authorities, and private companies.
Transportation engineering is the profession responsible
for the planning, design, construction, operation, and
maintenance of transportation infrastructure
Transportation planning involves the process of
developing plans and programs that improve present
travel condition
Transportation design involves the specification of
features that comprise the transportation facility such
that it will function efficiently and in accord with
appropriate criteria and mathematical relationships
Transportation construction involves all aspects of the
building process
Transportation operations and management involves the
control of vehicles in real time to ensure that they are
traveling in paths that are secure from interference with
other vehicles or pedestrians
Transportation infrastructure maintenance involves the
process of assuring that the nation’s transportation
system remains in excellent working condition
TRANSPORTATION ROLE IN HISTORY
On a regional and national scale, developments in
transportation have had an important influence on the
growth of countries.
1. Canals
2. Railroads
3. Automobiles
4. Waterborne Transportation
5. Interstate Highways
6. Air Travel
TRANSPORTATION HISTORY
BEFORE 1800
In the period from 360 B.C. to 360 A.D, the Romans developed
layers of heavy stone were placed in several tiers and
topped with large flat stones, bonded together with a lime
mortar.
Tresaguet, Telford, and MacAdam, in the late 1700s to early
1800s, developed light road building processes that
emphasized drainage, crushed stone subgrades, and covers
of finely crushed stone bound with water or oil.
The kalesa is basically a horse drawn carriage, it was
introduced to the Philippines in the 18th Century by the
Spanish.
In 1769, James Watt, a Scottish engineer, patented a
revolutionary steam engine design. In 1807, Robert Fulton, a
civil engineer, demonstrated the commercial feasibility of
steamboat travel.
1800-1900
Canals were a dominant mode during the period 1800–1840,
when approximately 6400 km of canal were built to connect
various waterways in the northeastern portion of the United
States.
Between 1860 and 1897 a practical design of the gasoline
motor-driven highway vehicle was developed.
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 1. Require constant maintenance;
First automobile was produced in 1886 (by Daimler and Benz) 2. High construction cost;
3. Tracks are reserved only for the movement of trains;
In 1895, only four automobiles were produced, and this new 4. Operational Controls Requirements; and
invention was seen as a toy for the very wealthy 5. Suitable for specific service only.

In 1903, Henry Ford founded the Ford Motor Company and WATER
perfected a process to mass produce automobiles that
could be purchased at a price most Americans could afford. Advantages:
1. Promotes international trade;
AFTER 1900 2. Cost of maintaining and constructing routes is very
low most of them are naturally made;
Other major technological innovations of the century have 3. Relatively economical mode of transport for bulky
included air conditioning, mechanization of maintenance and heavy goods; and
work, stabilization of roadbeds through soils engineering, 4. Safe mode of transport with respect to occurrence
and the use of continuous welded rails (CWR) in track. of accidents
● Wright brother flew the first heavier than air Disadvantages:
machine in 1903 1. Longer Lead/delivery times;
● First diesel engines buses were used 1938 2. Affected by adverse weather conditions;
● First commercial jet appeared in 1958 3. Difficult to monitor exact location of goods in
● Astronauts landed on the moon in 1969 transit;
4. Customs and Excise restrictions; and
The introduction of containerization occurred in 1956 when 5. Could be costly.
Malcolm McLean modified a tanker vessel to enable the
transport of 58 containers. AIR TRANSPORT

This innovation motivated the railroad industry to become Advantages:

one of the principal modes for the movement of freight.
Before and after World War II - numerous railroads attained
speeds of 90 to 100 mph (145 to 161 kph) with passenger trains
using steam, diesel, and electric locomotives.
1960s - trains have attained speeds of over 120 mph (193 kph)
(the Japanese Railways's Takaido Express) and as high as
186+ mph (299 kph) in the United States.
Today there is a complex array of modes, facilities, and
service options that provide shippers and the public a wide
range of choices for moving goods and passengers.
The term level of service is used to define the user
perception of these attributes.
1. Fast mode of transport;
2. Very useful in transporting goods and passengers
to the areas, which are not accessible by any other
means;
3. Convenient mode of transport during natural
calamities; and
4. Provides vital support to national security and
defense.
Disadvantages:
1. Relatively more expensive mode of transport;
2. Not suitable for transporting heavy and bulky
goods;
3. Affected by adverse weather conditions;
4. Not suitable for short distance travel; and
5. In case of accidents, it results in heavy losses of
goods, property and life.

FOUR MAJOR MODES OF TRANSPORTATION MODES OF TRANSPORTATION

ROADWAYS ACCESSIBILITY OR UBIQUITY

Advantages: Refers to the cost of getting to and from the mode in

1. Provides good commercial link between cities;
2. Offers quick and assured deliveries;
3. Roads can be constructed at comparatively lower
cost;
4. Offers flexible service, free from fixed schedules;
and
5. For short halts road transport is the only
economical means.
Disadvantages:
1. Poor record of safety;
2. One of the major causes of environmental
pollution;
3. Low carrying capacity of passengers and goods;
4. Parking space problems; and
5. Consumes greater energy. Road Transport:
question and depends primarily on geographical
extensiveness.
- Highway systems – almost all individual pieces of
property have direct access to a public road
- Water transportation – possible only at port
facilities located on the banks of navigable rivers,
canals, or the seacoast
MOBILITY
Describes in terms of speed or travel time. Distinction is
made between line-haul speeds and travel times, and
door-to-door travel times.
- Highway systems – human factors and speed limit.

RAILWAY PRODUCTIVITY OR EFFICIENCY

Advantages: Measure of the total amount of transportation provided per

1. Railway journey is cheap especially for long
distance;
2. Railways can handle heavier loads at high speed;
3. Provides cheap, convenient and safe mode of
transport; and
4. Easy means of transporting food and clothes in
times of emergencies such as floods and famines,
etc.
Disadvantages:
unit time.
The amount of transportation is usually thought of as the
product of the volume of goods or passengers carried and
distance. Can be measured as ton-miles per year or
passengers-kilometers per day.
- Highway systems – not high as regards to safety,
energy, and some cost
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MULTIPLE TRANSPORTATION MODES
MULTIMODAL
consideration of at least two transport modes
INTERMODAL
when two or more distinct modes are used to carry person
or goods from origin to destination
TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS, HIERARCHIES, AND
CLASSIFICATION
A series of distinct travel movements are recognizable in
most trips:
- Highway system - main movement along a freeway
- Transitions to an arterial road via freeway off-ramp
- Arterial road
- Collector road
- Terminal or garage
FUNTIONALLY CLASSIFIED RURAL HIGHWAY NETWORK
FUNTIONALLY CLASSIFIED SUBURBAN STREET NETWORK
RELATIONSHIP OF FUNCTIONALLY CLASSIFIED STSTEMS IN
SERVICE TRAFFIC MOBILITY AND LAND ACCESS
- Freeways and arterials have high level of mobility
because they allow high speeds but do not provide
sufficient accessibility.
- Local street have maximum accessibility, but users
find the mobility on such streets poor.
COMPONENTS OF TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM
PHYSICAL ELEMENTS
- Infrastructure
Refers to the fixed parts of a transportation system
- Vehicles
Vehicles are the elements of a transportation system that
move along the travel way
- Equipment
Equipment refers to physical components whose main
function is to facilitate the transportation process.
- Control, communications, and location systems.
Control involves the elements required to allocate
right-of-way. Communications systems link traffic control
centers to travel way equipment. Location systems identify
individual vehicles in real time, using global positioning
systems (GPSs) to track vehicles.
HUMAN RESOURCES
Include vehicle operators such as:
- automobile truck and bus drivers
- railroad engineers
- airline pilots
- maintenance and construction workers
- transportation managers
- professionals who use knowledge and information
to advance the transportation enterprise
OPERATING RULES
- Schedule
The arrival and departure times of transportation vehicles
at the different transportation terminals and stations.
- Crew Assignment
Assigning operators to the different vehicles.
- Connection Patterns
How service is organized over the transportation system or
network.
- Cost/level of service tradeoff
Involves setting operational rules for transportation
systems, and doing so involves a tradeoff between cost and
level of service.
- Contingency plan
Are implemented when something goes wrong with the
transportation system.
URBAN TRANSPORTATION PLANNING CONCEPT
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 URBANIZATION

The process of transition from a rural to a more urban

society. Urbanization reflects an Increasing proportion of
the population living. In settlements defined as urban,
primarily through netrural to urban Migration.

THREE MAIN DEMOGRAPHIC TRENDS

NATURAL INCREASE

- Outcome of more births than deaths in urban

areas, a direct function of the fertility rate as well as
the quality of healthcare systems (lower mortality
rates, particularly forinfants

RURAL TO URBAN MIGRATION

- May involve the expectation to find employment,

improved agricultural productivity which frees rural THE URBAN FORM AND ITS SPATIAL STRUCTURE ARE
labor or political and environmental problems ARTICULATED BY TWO STRUCTURAL ELEMENTS
where populations are constrained to leave the
countryside NODES

INTERNATIONAL MIGRATION These are reflected in the centrality of urban activities,

which can be related to the spatial accumulation of
WORLD LARGEST CITIES (2010) economic activities or to accessibility to the transport
system
By 2050, 6.4 billion people, about two-thirds of humanity, are
lIkely to be urban residents . LINKAGES

URBAN FORM These are the infrastructures supporting flows from, to and
between nodes.
Refers to the spatial imprint of an urban transport system
as well as the adjacent physical infrastructures. Jointly, they
confer a level of spatial arrangement to cities.

FOUR TYPES OF SPATIAL URBAN STRUCTURE

TYPE I - COMPLETELY MOTORIZED NETWORK

Representing an automobile-dependent city with a limited

centrality and dispersed activities.

URBAN (SPATIAL) STRUCTURE

Refers to the set of relationships arising out of the urban

form and its underlying interactions of people, freight and
information.

It tries to evaluate to what extent specific urban structures

can be achieved with specific transport systems.

Centralization. Refers to the setting of activities in relation to

the whole urban area.

Clustering. Refers to the setting of activities in relation to a

specific part of the urban area.

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 TYPE II - WEAK CENTER

Representing the spatial structure of many American cities

where many activities are located in the periphery.

URBAN LAND USE AND TRANSPORTATION

Urban land use comprises two elements: the nature of Land

use, which relates to which activities are taking Place where,
and the level of spatial accumulation, which Indicates
intensity and concentration of activities.
TYPE III - STRONG CENTER
THE LAND USE – TRANSPORT SYSTEM
Representing high density urban centers with well developed
public transit systems, particularly in Europe and Asia. - Formal land use representations are concerned
with qualitative attributes of space such as its form,
pattern and aspect and are descriptive in nature.
- Functional land use representations are
concerned with the economic nature of activities
such as production, consumption, residence and
transport, and are mainly a socioeconomic
description of space.

The major components of the spatial imprint of urban

transportation are:

1. Pedestrian areas. Refer to the amount of space

TYPE IV - TRAFFIC LIMITATION
Representing urban areas that have implemented traffic
control and modal preference in their spatial structure.
Commonly, the central area is dominated by public transit.
devoted to walking.
2. Roads and parking areas. Refer to the amount of
space devoted to road transportation, which has
two states of activity; moving or parked. In a
motorized city, on average 30% of the surface is
devoted to roads while another 20% is required for
off-street parking
3. Cycling areas. In a disorganized form, cycling simply
shares access to pedestrian and road space.
However, many attempts have been made to create
spaces specifically for bicycles in urban areas, with
reserved lanes and parking facilities
4. Transit systems. Many transit systems, such as
buses and tramways, share road space with
automobiles, which often impairs their respective
efficiency.
5. Transport terminals. Refer to the amount of space
devoted to terminal facilities such as ports,
airports, transit stations, railyards and distribution
centers.

In an age of motorization and personal mobility, an

increasing number of cities are developing a spatial
structure that increases reliance on motorized
transportation, particularly the privately owned automobile.
This has caused a shift from a grid pattern towards
curvilinear and cul-de-sac patterns that are commonly
found in suburban areas

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